November 1 Leipzig

This morning we left the ship and boarded busses heading north into Saxony, once part of East Germany. After an autobahn rest stop lunch and an onboard lecture on Bach, we dozed and listened to Water Music over the loud speakers. The landscape was not picturesque like Bavaria: it’s fairly flat with many huge windmills, factories and solar power farms. All the better reason to close the eyes and drift with the beautiful music. As we drove, I vowed to put classical music back into my daily life when I get home.

Leipzig is another city that was heavily bombed. We saw many stark apartment complexes and factories as we rolled in, but the city center is a beautiful combination of restored old and sleek modern buildings on wide boulevards. We checked in to the luxurious Marriott and quickly prepared for today’s main event, a visit to Bach’s church.

We had learned that Johann Sebastian Bach was the cantor (music director) of Thomaskirche for 27 years and wrote new music for the church services every week. We headed out this dark, rainy evening for the 6 pm service. We went in a side door where a woman gave us a five page program. The church that holds 900 people was almost full. We found seats towards the back. The high backed wooden pews were outfitted with individual fold down chairs. There are no kneelers but the back of the pew ahead formed a little shelf for your hymnal or materials.

At 6 o’clock a small choir and a woman pastor walked down the aisle. The pipe organ began playing a loud and jarring piece. The pastor welcomed us in German and the choir began to sing. The choral music was fantastic. There were only about twenty five singers, but they filled the huge cathedral with an ethereal sound, even in the back. The service consisted mostly of chorales, with some audience participation. I was able to follow the German program, and join the singalongs. After the sermon and a Lord’s Prayer came the part the tourists had come for; a J.S. Bach organ piece called “Guten Nacht, o Wesen.” (Good Night Existance). It was short but thrilling to think that Bach composed this piece and played it in that very place.

The people sitting around us were Germans, and seemed involved in both worship and enjoying the music. A screaming toddler had to be carried out, and the man in front of me had terrible BO….so I was never fully transported into musical ecstasy. But it was close enough. Mike and I plan to go again tomorrow for the 3 pm service.